phonology

pho·nol·o·gy

noun \fə-ˈnä-lə-jē, fō-\

Definition of PHONOLOGY

1

: the science of speech sounds including especially the history and theory of sound changes in a language or in two or more related languages

2

: the phonetics and phonemics of a language at a particular time

— pho·no·log·i·cal \ˌfō-nə-ˈlä-ji-kəl also ˌfä-\ also pho·no·log·ic \-jik\ adjective

— pho·no·log·i·cal·ly \-ji-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

— pho·nol·o·gist \fə-ˈnä-lə-jist, fō-\ noun

First Known Use of PHONOLOGY

1799

Rhymes with PHONOLOGY

andrology, anthology, apology, astrology, biology, bryology, cetology, Christology, chronology, conchology, cosmology, cryptology, cytology, dendrology, doxology, ecology, enology, ethnology, ethology, fetology, garbology, gemology, geology, graphology, haplology, histology, homology, horology, hydrology, hymnology, Indology, limnology, lithology, mixology, morphology, mycology, myology, mythology, necrology, nephrology, neurology, nosology, oncology, ontology, oology, pathology, pedology, penology, petrology, phlebology, phrenology, phycology, proctology, psychology, scatology, seismology, serology, sexology, sinology, symbology, tautology, technology, tetralogy, theology, topology, trichology, typology, ufology, urology, virology, zoology

pho·nol·o·gy

noun \fə-ˈnäl-ə-jē, fō-\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; pho·nol·o·gies

Medical Definition of PHONOLOGY

1

: the science of speech sounds including especially the history and theory of sound changes in a language or in two or more related languages

2

: the phonetics and phonemics of a language at a particular time

—pho·no·log·i·cal \ˌfōn-^əl-ˈäj-i-kəl also ˌfän-^əl-\ (audio pronunciation) also pho·no·log·ic \-ik\ (audio pronunciation) adjective

—pho·no·log·i·cal·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ (audio pronunciation) adverb

phonology

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Study of sound patterns within languages. Diachronic (historical) phonology traces and analyzes changes in speech sounds and sound systems over time (e.g., the process by which sea and see, once pronounced with different vowel sounds, have come to be pronounced alike). Synchronic (descriptive) phonology investigates sound patterns at a single stage in a language's development, to identify which ones can occur and in what position (in English, for example, nt and rk appear within or at the end of words but not at the beginning).